It has achieved all of this and much more over the past 15 editions, and very quickly earned the status of South Africa’s premier annual motoring and motorsport lifestyle event.

We delve into what it takes to host the Simola Hillclimb, and some of the fascinating facts and figures that help make this the must-attend event of the year for competitors, spectators, vehicle manufacturers and importers, as well as event partners and sponsors.

World’s fastest hill climb – average speed over 200km/h:

The Simola Hillclimb is the world’s fastest hill climb, with the current record holder completing the 1.9 km run at an astonishing average speed of 200.228km/h, from a standing start! This remarkable feat was achieved in 2022 by Andre Bezuidenhout in the Gould GR55. The 1.9 km Goodwood Festival of Speed comes closest with an average speed of 175km/h, also achieved in 2022.

12-18 months of planning:

It takes an entire year, and in some cases up to 18 months or more, of planning to put the Simola Hillclimb together. The organising team does an extensive debrief with all the stakeholders, including Motorsport South Africa (MSA), the day after that year’s event is completed.

Event build-up:

Planning changes to be made start around October the year prior to the event, with the on-site preparations, construction and build-up starting more than two months before the event. The team transforms this normally quiet public road to the Simola Hotel Country Club and Spa into a world-class hill climb haven. In 2025, this involved installing:

• 67 FIA-specification concrete barriers with catch fencing strategically placed and bolted together with specially developed steel plates, bolts, washers and nuts
• 7 000+ used car tyres bound together with 1.4km of stainless-steel strapping and buckles according to stringent FIA and MSA specifications, and used at various parts of the track as additional safety measures
• 41 MSA-approved apex markers fixed into the tar to demarcate track limits
• 73 km additional speed and safety fencing to ensure the safety of spectators
• 2 153 m² decks and grandstands, which include providing 500 seats at the Turn 2 Grandstand and 300 seats at The Esses Grandstand
• 43 marquees covering 2 587 m² for the Pit Lane and VIP hospitality areas
• 22 pits, accommodating up to 84 competitor vehicles, plus additional marquees for the track experience and demonstration vehicles
• 13 containers rented for offices, timing, livestream production, storage, catering and refrigeration

Competitors:

• 65 competitors for Classic Car Friday, 10 classes covering vehicles up to 2005
  1. 84 competitors in King of the Hill, 25 classes across three categories - Road-going Saloon Cars & Supercars; Modified Saloon Cars; and Single Seaters, Sports Cars & Sports Prototypes.
• 550+ competitor support crew and mechanics in the pit lane
• 1 400 timed runs up the 1.9 km Simola Hill throughout the three days of competition, including warm-up, practice, qualifying, Class Finals and Top 10 Shootouts

Most successful competitors:

• Classic Car Friday: 7 Classic Conqueror titles – Franco Scribante
• King of the Hill: 6 Single Seater, Sports Car & Sports Prototypes wins – Andre Bezuidenhout
• 5 wins (2 overall – 2009-2016), 3 Modified Saloon Car (2017-on) – Franco Scribante
• 4 Road-going Saloon Car & Supercar wins – JP van der Walt

• Organisers and officials
  • 6 full-time and 31 part-time Simola Hillclimb staff
  • 12 Motorsport South Africa officials, including clerk of the course, stewards, timekeepers, safety officer, environmental officer, event secretary, scrutineers, consultants and observers
  • 14 track marshals located at 7 marshal points along the track
  • 25 pit lane marshals
  • 7 medical, ambulance, fire and rescue personnel on-site throughout the event
  • 90 safety and security personnel per day, working a total of 360 shifts

• Spectators
  • 1 500 spectators attended the first Simola Hillclimb in 2009
  • 20 244 spectators in 2025 – the largest crowd to date
  • 5 000+ spectators at the Knysna street parade and Fan Fest, with free access to the public on Thursday for Classic Car Friday, and Friday for King of the Hill

Media:

• 546 000 livestream viewers in 2025:
• 54% international; 46% South Africa; 75-million minutes viewed on Simola Hillclimb YouTube channel and Facebook page; Hillclimb Monsters – Simola Hillclimb-related videos between February and May 2025; Facebook: More than 1-million views; YouTube: More than 3-million views and 5-million hits on Simola Hillclimb website in May 2025.

The 16th edition of the Simola Hillclimb takes place from 30 April to 3 May 2026.

For more information and ticket sales, visit the website: www.simolahillclimb.com